When I decided to take a solo trip to Paris, I had a day like last Sunday in mind…
I wanted to walk through art museums, through gardens and old streets. I wanted to sit at cafes (alone of course… but that’s the fun of it) and go wherever the heck I wanted to go, because there was no one else with a different itinerary. I wanted to just have a day to myself… and that’s exactly the kind of day I got.
I didn’t get a very good night’s sleep unfortunately, and after waking up at 6 am (four hours after falling asleep), the noise my roommates were making as they got ready… I kid you not… for three hours kept me from falling back asleep. When one of them started eating her strong-smelling breakfast in the room (even though there was a communal kitchen 25 feet away), I realized that she was probably annoyed that I came home at 2 am and wanted payback.
But I don’t get into petty fights. I smiled and introduced myself and put on my friendly, people-pleasing non-partier air. In the end, I think it made her feel a little guilty for being obnoxiously loud, because she started being really friendly back after a few minutes. I was slightly tired the rest of the day, but it was bearable.
The good thing about waking up a little earlier than I originally planned was that it gave me more time to explore Paris!
First, I took the metro to the Tulleries stop, which was across the river from the Musee D’orsay. It was breakfast time however, so I decided to try and find a cheap place to eat. After a bit of searching, I found a cafe with a lot of quiches on display in the front. At first, I wanted to order one to-go, but then the lady at the counter convinced me to sit down at a table. Hey, I was in Paris… I had to have one solo meal at a cafe if I was a solo traveler, right?
My breakfast ended up being a little more expensive than I would have liked because I sat down and ordered a Perrier, but it was pretty delicious and I liked pretending I was a classy lady who was confident enough to eat breakfast at a cafe alone.
Not going to lie, it was a little difficult not to flip out my phone and bury myself into things on the screen that would make me look occupied. At times I felt as if the other diners were seriously judging me and my awful American accent as I attempted to say please and thank you in French. The truth is, even if those other people were judging me, would I see any of them ever again in my life? I was here to enjoy the peace and quiet and every bite of my delicious breakfast quiche.
After breakfast, I walked through a lovely park and over the Seine to reach the museum.
The Musee D’Orsay was amazing. What made it even more amazing was the fact that I got an EU Citizen discount again and got in for free!
The museum was like the impressionist unit of my AP Art History class on steroids. I loved it.
There were also a ton of other cool elements, like the overall layout of the museum, and this awesome clock window on the top floor:
To finish off my visit, I decided I needed to order a croissant from the museum cafe. It was such a great decision.
Next, I started making my way over in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. On my way, I ran into a GIANT Christmas market. Christmas markets hadn’t even started in Copenhagen yet, so I was pretty pumped to see one here!
After wandering around for a bit, I was really in the mood for a savory crepe, and since hardly any restaurants are open on Sundays in Paris, I decided that my best bet would be the Christmas market. I ended up finding a stand with Middle Eastern food that served something called a “Mccem Farci”, which was a wrap with tomato sauce, mushrooms and onion. It was very crepe-like and delicious, so I was extremely happy.
After eating lunch alone in a park and having a bunch of people approach me and start asking me for directions in French, it was time to head over to the Eiffel Tower! Would you look at those views?
I even made my way underneith the tower, but decided not to climb it because I was running short on time.
After that, I wanted to check out the Latin Quarter again, and ended up in the park next to Victor Hugo’s mansion. I’m a big Les Mis fan so this was super fun for me.
It’s funny because even though I was pretty much all “On my Own” in Paris, unlike Eponine, I was thrilled. Solo trips rock!
And that was that… Paris in two days. I would do it all again in a heartbeat, but there are so many other places in this world to explore! I will definitely be back for more Parisian adventures in the future though- two days weren’t nearly enough to fully experience this gigantic city.
More soon,
-Hana
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